The man who was shot and killed Thursday night in Annapolis was the son of a city pastor involved in efforts to prevent gun violence.

Charles Edward Carroll Jr., 25, of Baltimore, was found shot inside a vehicle after crashing into the side of a townhouse in the Bywater Mutual Homes complex, police said. His death was the seventh homicide this year in Annapolis.

The Rev. Charles Carroll, pastor of the New Creation Deliverance Church in Annapolis, organized a gun drive last month after the shooting death of 17-year-old Kymici Brown in the Robinwood community.

Although only two guns were turned in, the pastor was optimistic about the future.

"People don't care until (a shooting) is in our backyard. Until it happens to you or your neighbor, it doesn't feel real," he said in June. "We are trying to start something in this area here."

Carroll struggled to discuss his son's death on Friday. He said his son faced challenges in his life.

"He made mistakes in his life and paid the cost for them," he said.

Carroll was convicted of possession of narcotics with the intent to distribute in 2012, and was sentenced to serve five years in prison, online court records show. He was also convicted of a 2008 armed robbery, and was sentenced to a four-year suspended prison term, the records show.

"He was a nice person," the pastor said, "Nobody deserves to die."

Carroll was raised by his mother Beverly Reed and lived with her in the Brooklyn neighborhood, just across the Anne Arundel County line. Reed said she was in a state of shock on Friday.

By Tim Pratt, Staff

Annapolis police investigate the scene of a homicide in the Bywater community Thursday night. Police responded to a report of shots fired and found this vehicle had crashed into a wall.

Annapolis police investigate the scene of a homicide in the Bywater community Thursday night. Police responded to a report of shots fired and found this vehicle had crashed into a wall.

(By Tim Pratt, Staff)

"I can't even wrap up my mind around it," she said. "I went into his room this morning thinking he would still be there."

Reed said her son was a "just a loving, caring person."

"He had so many friends," she said. "People just loved him. He would give you the shirt off his back."

Nashae Akndy said her younger brother loved to dance and often listened to music.

"He was definitely fun and outgoing," she said.

Reed said her son was working on improving his life.

Carroll recently earned his high school diploma at Anne Arundel Community College, through a program called Step Up to Success.

His mother said he had done very well and recently found out the program had lined him up with a job.

"He was very excited," she said. Her son hoped to someday have his own business, she said.

Shots fired

Officers responded at about 9:30 p.m. Thursday to a report of shots fired on Royal Street. There, they found a vehicle that had crashed into a residential building, said Cpl. Amy Miguez, police spokeswoman.

An injured man, later identified as Carroll, was found inside the vehicle, police said, and investigators determined he had been shot. He later died from his injuries, police said.

Carroll's body has been taken to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore where an autopsy will be performed.

No suspects were in custody as of Friday morning, Miguez said.

Miguez said the incident remains under investigation, and could not provide any additional details.

On Friday morning, a woman who identified herself as Carroll's cousin, examined tire marks in a grassy area where the car collided with the building.

"It's tragic. He was a good kid," said the woman, who declined to provide her name.

Carroll's death comes about a week after two loaded handguns were found stashed on Royal Street, police said. The guns were found less than 24 hours after shots were reported fired on nearby Copeland Street.

Miguez said police do not believe the incidents are connected to the fatal shooting.

Rev. Carroll helped organized a gun drop off in June in cooperation with police. He encouraged residents to anonymously turn their weapons over to the Annapolis Police Department, no questions asked.

During the event, only two guns were turned over to police. The matched set of .25-caliber automatics was brought in by an elderly woman who said they were her husband's.

The event was organized as an attempt to prevent such gun deaths from occurring again.

"This is something that just came in our hearts," Carroll said. "We want to reach out to families and the community and try to help fix the problem."

The last homicide in the Bywater neighborhood was in September 2013, when Ronnesha Simms was stabbed to death by William R. Brown Jr., the father of her two daughters. Brown was shot and killed by police as they attempted to save Simms.

Anyone with information about the homicide is asked to contact Detective Charles Bealefeld at 410-260-3439. Anonymous tips can be submitted by calling Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-877-7LOCKUP.